2009/10 Bay Area Season Announced

Chanticleer 2009-2010 Season
IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

24 Concerts … Five New Venues … Four New Programs

New Season Highlights Include Gala Concert, "The Singing Life,” on March 29 at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall, Where Chanticleer Will Be Joined by 12 Student Choirs From Bay Area and Across the Country for Joyous Celebration of Singing

SAN
FRANCISCO, CA, August 25, 2009 – Described by the New Yorker as “the world’s reigning male chorus” and praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for its
“combination of tonal luxuriance and crisply etched clarity,” Chanticleer launches its 2009-2010 Bay Area season on September 15 with a concert at the Mission
San Louis Obispo. It is the first
of 21 concerts the Grammy-winning
ensemble will give throughout California and the Bay Area, performing at
favorite venues as well as in five
exciting new locations. A
writer for the Chicago Tribune once
observed, “I can’t think of another ‘orchestra of voices’ that can shuttle with
such proficiency from Renaissance polyphony to gospel, contemporary classical
to jazz.” That trademark
versatility and range is everywhere apparent in Chanticleer’s 2009-10 concerts;
the group expands its offerings to four
new programs this season, including “The
Singing Life,” a celebration of the joy of singing at Davies Symphony Hall.

In Time Of… Songs of Love & Loss,
War & Peace is Chanticleer’s
season-opening program, an exploration of centuries of music inspired by the
most profound human experiences. The program features music from Renaissance
masters such as Palestrina, Dufay and Janequin to
works of modern composers including Ligeti, Chen Yi, Sametz, McGlynn, Bates, Gershwin and
others. (Six concerts, September 15 – 27, with two additional concerts in
S.F. on March 20 and 21).

A Chanticleer Christmas, the group’s second program this season, has become
a holiday classic throughout the Bay Area and across the country; it has been
featured in four consecutive annual appearances by Chanticleer on NBC TV’s Today show, as well as on a DVD recorded
in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art that aired widely on public
television. With its beautiful blend of traditional carols, medieval and
Renaissance sacred works and lively spirituals, the program celebrates the
mystery and wonder of the season and enriches the spirit at this special time
of year. Featured on this year’s program are selections from several
of Chanticleer’s best-selling albums of holiday favorites. A writer
for the New Yorker summed it up
succinctly: “No one does a better
choral Christmas than the virtuoso male voices of Chanticleer.” (Eleven
concerts, December 12 – 22).

The Singing Lifeis the crowning event in Chanticleer’s first National
Youth Choral Festival (March 26 – 29), and is vivid evidence of the
group’s ongoing and extensive commitment to inspiring and mentoring young
singers, keeping the choral art alive in communities large and small across the
country. The single evening concert, which takes place on March 29 at 7:30pm at
Davies Symphony Hall, features the twelve singers of Chanticleer together with
twelve high school choirs (300 students in all!) from the Bay Area and across
the country in an inspiring program celebrating the joy of singing. Chanticleer’s mission and remarkable
ability to inspire young singers from across America was documented last season
in The Singing Life, which has aired
extensively on public television stations and is now available on DVD. The ensemble began its education
program in 1986 (then called “Singing in the Schools), and with the help of
individual contributions and foundation and corporate support the program has
evolved and grown substantially.

Chanticleer’s
final program of the season is For Thy Soul’s Salvation: Music for
England’s Monarchs. In the
16th and 17th centuries, England’s Stuart and Tudor sovereigns sought God’s
favor through magnificent music composed for their Chapels Royal by a handful
of prodigiously talented composers exemplified by those heard on this
program: William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Robert Parsons, Henry Purcell and others. For pure sonic splendor and sheer
beauty, the music of this era remains unequaled, and Chanticleer’s deep
connection to these and other gems from the world of early music has been the
cornerstone of its singular reputation over the past three decades. (Four concerts, June 2 – 5).

At
the end of the season Chanticleer will accompany the San Francisco delegation
to Shanghai’s Expo 2010 at the invitation of the Shanghai-SF Sister City
Committee (June 11 – 14).

A
complete list of concert dates for Chanticleer’s 2009-2010 Bay Area season
follows, with additional information also available at Chanticleer’s web site: www.chanticleer.org

In Time Of…
Songs of Love & Loss, War & Peace

Tuesday, September 15, 8pm

Mission San Luis Obispo. San
Luis Obispo

Wednesday,
September 16, 8pm

Carmel Mission, 3080 Rio
Road, Carmel

Thursday,
September 17, 8pm

Mission Santa Clara, Santa
Clara University, Santa Clara

Saturday,
September 19, 8pm

Napa Opera
House. Napa

Tuesday, September 22, 8pm

Lesher Center for the Arts, Hoffman Theatre, Walnut Creek

Sunday, September 27, 6pm

St. Francis Church, 1112
26th St. Sacramento

Saturday, March 20, 2010, 8pm

Sunday, March 21, 5pm

SF Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco

A Chanticleer Christmas

Saturday,
December 12, 8:15pm

The Cathedral of Christ the
Light, Oakland

Sunday,
December 13, 8pm

Saturday, December 19, 8pm

St. Ignatius Church, 650
Parker Street, San Francisco

Tuesday,
December 15, 6pm & 8:30pm

St. Vincent’s Church, 35 Liberty Street, Petaluma

Wednesday,
December 16, 8pm

First Congregational Church,
2345 Channing Way, Berkeley

Sunday,
December 20, 5pm

Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis

Note: $25 seats at Davis are
assigned, not general admission

Monday,
December 21, 6pm & 8:30 pm

Carmel Mission, 3080 Rio
Road, Carmel

Tuesday, December 22, 6pm & 8:30 pm

Mission Santa Clara, Santa Clara University. Santa
Clara

National Youth Choral Festival

Monday,
March 29, 2010, 7:30pm

Davies Symphony Hall. San
Francisco

For Thy Soul’s Salvation: Music for England’s Monarchs

Wednesday,
June 2, 2010, 8pm

First
Congregational Church, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley

Thursday,
June 3, 8pm

St.
Francis Church, 1112 26th St ,Sacramento

Friday,
June 4, 8pm

St.
Joseph’s Cathedral Basilica, 80 South Market Street, San Jose

Saturday,
June 5, 8pm

Mission
Dolores, 3321 16th Street, San Francisco

# # # #

Posted
on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 5:45 pm and is filed under Press Releases.